Originally published: January 10, 2012

I’ve already figured it out. Here we are in Week Two of our eight-week test of a 2012 Toyota Tacoma V6 TRD and I’ve come to realize why this truck is so popular, despite its niggling shortcomings.

All kinds of things cause me to shake my head at this truck — things such as the lack of locking tailgate, no heated side mirrors (a real pain), manual climate control, a narrow bed — but at the end of the day I can’t help but have become smitten with the Tacoma.

I don’t say that lightly. There aren’t many vehicles south of $35,000 I personally revere. But the Tacoma, much like the 5th-gen Toyota 4Runner, has something special about it that is hard to quantify. While I’m hard pressed to pinpoint the allure, I’m sure the TRD capability, the truckish command of the road and simply the way the thing looks, with the endearing face of a French Bulldog, has a lot to do with it.

The affection certainly grew over the weekend when I had to cross a frozen, snow-covered swamp to reach some felled timber at my cottage near Westport, Ont. The only way to the wood, to be used for firewood next year, was over the swamp strewn with logs and tree limbs entombed in frozen muck, and there were more undulations across the snow than the Dow Jones. I slipped the Tacoma into neutral and then into L4, thereby locking the differential. Gently coaxing the Tacoma over the icy ground, I reached the timber with barely one slip of a single wheel, and also turned the truck around. The Tacoma’s ground clearance of 9.1 inches easily handled the frozen swamp, although the big, low mudflaps did fold back on a couple of occasions.

Adding about 2,000 lbs. of timber into the bed saw the Tacoma sag just a little in the rear, but nothing excessive given the weight. Exiting the swamp saw some wheel slip, but I was never concerned about getting stuck. It was almost a disappointment: I was hoping for more drama, but the Tacoma and its 4×4 and limited slip rear differential made the day’s task too easy. The composite bed made it simple to slide the wood out and later sweep clean. I wish Toyota had used the same gas struts from the Tundra’s tailgate on the Tacoma’s tailgate — and also that it could open both traditional style and, when needed, barn-door like (as in the Honda Ridgeline, which does both).

It’s these little things the Tacoma is missing, the things that show Toyota sweated the small stuff in making a truck that is proving to be wildly capable, though not quite as refined as it should be this late in its age. Still, the Tacoma endears because, like a well-trained Lab, it goes and does exactly as commanded. It’s far from perfect, but is proving to be a solid and faithful companion. There’s very little wind noise in the cabin, too, and I’ve yet to notice any squeaks or rattles.

I did manage to squeeze only 415 kilometres from my last full tank of fuel, which, with an 80-litre tank, translates into roughly 18L/100km (15.7 imperial mpg) in combined city and highway driving. That’s not quite as horrific as I initially expected, but worse is the fact the Tacoma has no onboard computer to illustrate fuel economy averages or instant economy. This seems especially odd from a company that takes such pride in its Prius and driving green.

That’s what I mean about the little things. What would it have taken to add a fuel monitor in the 2012 refresh? Not much. That absent detail seems to be the recurring theme with the Tacoma — missing a degree of thoughtfulness that could have made it realize its full potential as the perfect mid-size truck.